The Last Year of President Kennedy and the "Multiple Path" Policy Toward Cuba


Book Description

This book presents new aspects of the U.S. "multiple path" policy toward Cuba that was designed and adopted after the Missile Crisis (October 1962) until the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, from a Cuban perspective. The policy was characterized by its contradictory profile, since simultaneously as aggressions were directed at Cuba, it also included the establishment of channels of communication with the Cuban government. The book also analyzes the Cuban–Soviet dispute during the same period. The Cuban experiences have still not been sufficiently discussed, and the aspects offered will enrich the knowledge of the U.S.–Cuban relationship during the mentioned period.




The Johnson Administration's Cuba Policy


Book Description

This book presents the reader with a detailed analysis of the U.S. policy toward Cuba that was designed and adopted by the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. Based in governmental and other sources from both the U.S. and Cuba, the book analyzes the changes in the U.S. policy and its political and practical effects. Cuba still had to face a combination of "dirty war" and "passive containment," but during the course of the 1960s, the influence of the "dirty war" policy was weakened due to the failure of the tactics to overthrow the Cuban Revolution by violent means. Instead, the policy was directed towards "passive containment," characterized by its focus on an intensification of the economic blockade, the promotion of diplomatic isolation, and propaganda campaigns and psychological warfare. The book is unique since it is written from a Cuban perspective and it complements and enriches the knowledge of the U.S.-Cuban relationship during the 1960s, and the policy adopted by the Johnson administration.




The Political Coexistence of the United States with Cuba, 1961-1975


Book Description

This book investigates the phenomenon of the political coexistence of the United States with Cuba that developed between the beginning of the John F. Kennedy administration and the Cold War détente of the mid-1970s. It is revealed that due to the US global commitments, related to the Cold War and the risk of confrontation with the Soviet Union, the political approach of Washington to the Fidel Castro’s Cuba constituted a perpetuated condition of suspense between war and peace. Despite the failure of both the US hostile policies and diplomatic dialogue with Castro, the mutual tension remained under control of recurrent crisis management course. Ultimately, the US attempts to discipline and moderate Cuban policies led to an actual political coexistence between the two countries, establishing a long-term dynamics of the US attitude toward Cuba for the following decades. By combining a historical approach with political and international analysis through broad reference to primary sources, the study offers an insightful investigation of the global processes affecting the U.S. – Cuban dynamics of political coexistence. This volume will be of great value to those studying American history, 20th century history, international relations and political science across North America, Europe and other parts of the world.




U.S. and Latin American Relations


Book Description

The third edition of U.S. and Latin American Relations offers detailed theoretical and historical analyses essential for understanding contemporary US-Latin American relations. Utilizing four different theories (realism, liberal institutionalism, dependency, and autonomy) as a framework, the text provides a succinct history of relations from Latin American independence through the Covid-19 era before then examining critical contemporary issues such as immigration, human rights, and challenges to US hegemony. Engaging pedagogical features such as timelines, research questions, and annotated resources appear throughout the text, along with relevant excerpts from primary source documents. The third edition features a new chapter on the role of extrahemispheric actors such as China and Russia, as well as a significantly revised chapter on citizen insecurity that examines crime, drug trafficking, and climate change. Instructor resources include a test bank, lecture slides, and discussion questions.




The Nixon Administration and Cuba


Book Description

This book presents a detailed analysis of the U.S. policy that was adopted toward Cuba by the Richard M. Nixon administration between January 20, 1969, and August 8, 1974. Based on governmental, as well as other, sources from both the U.S. and Cuba, this book examines the rupture where the policy of “passive containment” was complemented with a policy of “dirty war.” President Nixon attempted to reestablish a confrontational and violent path of action, and once again, Cuba was exposed to a “dirty war” consisting of different forms of aggressive terrorist activities. Since the conditions for this violent route had changed dramatically both in the U.S. and in Cuba, a policy characterized by a continuity of the economic and psychological warfare came to be the central one for the Nixon administration. This book is unique since it is written from a Cuban perspective, and it therefore complements and enriches the knowledge of the U.S.–Cuban relationship during the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, and the policy adopted by the Nixon administration. It is of relevance to everyone interested in the issue, and especially for students and researchers within the disciplines of history and political science.




Cartographic Expeditions and Visual Culture in the Nineteenth-Century Americas


Book Description

During the nineteenth century, gridding, graphing, and surveying proliferated as never before as nations and empires expanded into hitherto "unknown" territories. Though nominally geared toward justifying territorial claims and collecting scientific data, expeditions also produced vast troves of visual and artistic material. This book considers the explosion of expeditionary mapping and its links to visual culture across the Americas, arguing that acts of measurement are also aesthetic acts. Such visual interventions intersect with new technologies, with sociopolitical power and conflict, and with shifting public tastes and consumption practices. Several key questions shape this examination: What kinds of nineteenth-century visual practices and technologies of seeing do these materials engage? How does scientific knowledge get translated into the visual and disseminated to the public? What are the commonalities and distinctions in mapping strategies between North and South America? How does the constitution of expeditionary lines reorder space and the natural landscape itself? The volume represents the first transnational and hemispheric analysis of nineteenth-century cartographic aesthetics, and features the multi-disciplinary perspective of historians, geographers, and art historians.




The Monroe Doctrine in a Contemporary Perspective


Book Description

This book surveys the impact of the Monroe Doctrine on United States relations with Latin America, with a particular focus on the Caribbean Basin, since its proclamation in 1823. It explores the historical role of the Monroe Doctrine as the instrument to foreclose future European colonial adventures in the American hemisphere and to exclude from it any political system(s) deemed to be incompatible with the American political tradition. Modeste examines the elastic interpretations of the Monroe Doctrine to justify American territorial expansion and imperial ambitions, premised on a strategic question – the power controlling the Latin American/Caribbean trade routes and Sea Lines of Communication. Fundamental to the narrative is the linkage of the tenets of the Monroe Doctrine to contemporary local/regional crises where governments have applied extraordinary, extra-constitutional measures to exercise control or achieve political ends, mechanisms of peaceful conflict resolution failures, and subversive elements that use unorthodox methods to threaten the integrity of the state. Modeste also traces the transformation of the Monroe Doctrine from a unilateral policy declaration to a multilateral compact for the collective defence of the hemisphere.




The 53


Book Description

On August 9, 1965, 53 men died in the impoverished hills of rural Arkansas. Their final breaths came in a government facility deep underground while their loved ones were at home expecting their return. The incident at Launch Complex 373-4 remains the deadliest accident to occur in a U.S. nuclear facility. The 53: Rituals, Grief, and a Titan II Missile Disaster analyzes the event. It looks at causes but more importantly at how the mishap has affected daughters and sons for nearly six decades. It gives new sociological insight on technological disasters and the sorrow following them. The book also details how surviving family members managed themselves and each other while benefiting from the support of friends and strangers. It describes how institutions blame the powerless, and how powerful organizations generate distrust and secondary trauma. With an analysis of the event and post-disaster life, their children share stories on what went wrong and how they keep moving forward.




Education in Revolutionary Struggles


Book Description

Education in Revolutionary Struggles introduces us to the fascinating world of Latin American educational thought in the third quarter of the 20th century. It discusses the contributions of three of the most distinguished intellectuals of the period – Iván Illich, Paulo Freire and Ernesto Guevara – and more specifically their answers to the eternal challenge: What is – or should be – the role of education in the profound structural and/or revolutionary transformation of our societies? The first part of the book identifies the cultural, economic and political context of the revolutionary years in Latin America. This historical framework is of particular interest because it is the setting for the intellectual and educational debates in which these three thinkers took part. The second part, the heart of the book, expounds in depth how Iván Illich, Paulo Freire and Ernesto Guevara contributed to understanding of how education is linked to the transformation of society. The third and final part highlights the most fertile dimensions of the educational thought of Iván Illich, Paulo Freire and Ernesto Guevara – deschooling, liberation education and revolutionary education respectively – and analyses the points where their conceptions of "education in revolutionary struggles" converged, complemented one another or diverged.




Kinship and Incestuous Crime in Colonial Guatemala


Book Description

Kinship and Incestuous Crime in Colonial Guatemala examines social relations in colonial Guatemala through the lens of incest. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses of incest trials from the Spanish secular courts, this study shows that incest codes were not homogenous nor were its various forms equally condemned. Further, incest codes and the criminal process impacted the articulation of kinship and contributed to the racialization of kin behavior. Colonial actors of all sorts were proficient at using these types of distinctions as they negotiated various crises in their lives. The models of relatedness created within incestuous crime ultimately foreshadowed changes in marriage proscriptions and continued racial polarization following independence from Spain. Overall, this study demonstrates how the lens of incest can add further nuance to our understanding of social relations in a given area. Incest codes force latent divisions between kin to the surface and can provide individuals with multiple avenues to creatively manage interpersonal relationships. They also afford a fruitful arena in which to explore social inequalities in society and mechanisms of culture change. This book will appeal to anyone interested in Latin America or engaged in the fields of kinship, gender, or sexuality studies.